Straight column selective bottle vending mechanism



y 1966 E. c. JOHNSON .ETAL 3,251,505

STRAIGHT COLUMN SELECTIVE BOTTLE VENDING MECHANISM 4 SheetS-Shet 1 Filed June 26 1964 INVENTORS.

Elmer C. Johnson her'berf L Keller BY [g i ATTORNEYS.

y 1966 E. c. JOHNSON ETAL 3,251,505

STRAIGHT COLUMN SELECTIVE BOTTLE VENDING MECHANISM Filed June 26 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2, I INVENTORS.

I Elmer C. Jahnson BY Herber'f L. Keller y 17, 1966 E. c. JOHNSON ETAL 3, 51,505

STRAIGHT COLUMN SELECTIVE BOTTLE VENDING MECHANISM Filed June 26 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I HI l 1|.

.9. I34 Fig /30 ll I041 v f.

1% H I Fig.3. I06 8 0 '30 46 "5/ i M i 25 Big. 4. W M

4? 3 m 53 flu-J ""175 II? n My I 46 INVENTORS. ,0?! [/me/' C. Johnson a I 44 BY Her'ber'f L. Keller 9/ Z 89 Z Z J 86 /ITTORNEYS.

May 17, 1966 E. c. JOHNSON ETAL 3,251,505

STRAIGHT COLUMN SELECTIVE BOTTLE VENDING MECHANISM Filed June 26 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 m Fig.8.

Fl [1/ u mllllh vi i W H INVENTORS. f/mer 6. Jahnson BY Her'berf L. Kefler' United States Patent 3,251,505 STRAIGHT COLUMN SELECTIVE BOTTLE VENDING MECHANISM Elmer C. Johnson, Raytown, and Herbert L. Keller, Inde- This invention relates to a vending machine which houses articles to be vended in straight, upright stacks for delivery of an individual article from a selected stack upon operation of the apparatus by a customer.

Staggered stack Vending machines and apparatuses of other types have enjoyed success in the vending machine art, but present a disadvantage in that the widths of the various columns are of suificient dimensions to limit the number of flavors or variety of articles which can be contained in one machine. It is, of course, possible to increase the breadth of the vending machine and thus increase the number of columns, but considerations of desirable machine size place a practical limit on this approach.

It is apparent that an alternative arrangement would be to lessen the widths of the various article-receiving compartments so that more flavors or selections could be contained within a given horizontal machine dimension. This may be accomplished by stacking each group of articles in a straight column rather than a staggered column so that the articles within the stack are in substantial alignment with one another. The problem with this has been, however, that an efficient, simple, and foolproof mechanism for releasing only one article of a selected stack at a time was unavailable. Manifestly, the lowermost article of a stack cannot be released for passage into the chute of the machine without first providing adequate support for the next-to-the lowermost article, and hence for the entire stack. Furthermore, the mechanism for effecting vending and simultaneous support of the remainder of the stack must be operated in proper synchronism, or jamming or jackpotting of the entire stack may occur.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide a straight stack vending machine which permits the number of different varieties of articles housed in the vending machine to be increased, thereby adding to customer appeal.

It is another important object of the instant invention to provide operating means for use with a straight stack vending machine which-assures that only the lowermost article of the selected stack will be vended by simultaneously positively retaining the next to the lowermost article of the stack against gravitation, and hence support ing the entire stack, during vending of the lowermost article.

Another important object of this invention is to provide vending mechanism as aforesaid employing articlesupport means which is positively driven into supporting relationship with the next to the lowermost article by mechanical energy applied thereto by the vend motor.

Still a further important object of the instant invention is to provide a straight stack vending machine constructed and arranged to block passage of the lowermost article ,to the delivery chute until the remaining articles of the ice trolled by novel, driven cam plates which are actuated during each vend cycle to initially bring the release rod up to an article-supporting position, then shift the .support rods relatively away from each other to permit all of the articles to descend until the lowermost bottle rests on the release rod, next lower the release rod to an article-releasing position, and in association with lowering of the release rod positively return the support rods to disposition engaging the next to lowermost article to thereby provide efiicient and effective delivery of a single article from the stack without jackpotting of the column either through surreptitious activity of a customer or failure of the mechanism to operate properly.

Other objects will become apparent as the detailed description proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the vending apparatus of the instant invention, certain parts being broken away to reveal constructional features;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 with the right-hand side wall (as viewed in FIG. I) removed to reveal the interior of the apparatus, the

- latch of the selective linkage means there illustrated being actuator device; 1

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevational view of the operating plates of the instant invention, the frontal, common plate being broken away to reveal the interior plates. This figure shows the disposition of one of the pairs of plates-for a selected column with the article-retaining member positioned at the peak of its upward travel;

FIG. 6 is a view identical to FIG. 5, except that the operating plates and associated parts are removed to clearly reveal the positions of the article-release member and support elements;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. .5 showing the pair of plates at the peak of their paths of travel with the corresponding'article support elements spaced apart to clear the lowermost article;

FIG. 8 is a view identical with FIG. 7, except that the operating plates andassociated parts are removed for clarity;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the pair of plates returning to their initial dispositions, the positions of the article support elements and release member beingillustrated just prior to release of the lowermost article for gravitational movement through the delivery passage; and

FIG. 10 is a view identical with FIG 9, except that the operating plates and associated parts are removed for clarity.

Particular reference is first made to FIGS. 1 and 2, the numeral 20 denoting the front wall of the vending apparatus which is adapted to be mounted within a protective enclosure. A rear wall 22 and side walls 24 and 26 also form a part of the vending mechanism. A plurality of vertical partitions 28 are disposed between side walls 24 and 26 in equally spaced relationship to one another. These partitions 28 divide the space between side walls 24 and 26 into a number of article-receiving, upright compartments; six of these compartments being illustrated in FIG. 1.

A front panel 30 is mounted forwardly of front wall 20 on a ledge 31, the space between wall 20 and panel 30 being utilized to house the various control components of the instant invention. A vend motor 32 may be attached by a bracket 34 to side wall 24 below the compartments near the bottom of the apparatus. Each of the compartments terminates in an open delivery passage which communicates with a delivery chute 38, the delivery passage for the compartment between side wall 26 and the adjacent partition 28 being shown at 36 in FIG. 2. Also, it may be noted in FIG. 2 that an adjustable spacer 40 is preferably provided in each of the compartments for controlling the depth thereof (the distance between front wall and spacer so that the compartments may accommodate bottles, can or the like of different relative lengths.

Referring to the figures in their entireties, the operating mechanism of the instant invention will now be described in detail. It should be understood that the various components of the mechanism are shown in their normal or stand-by positions in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, while FIGS. 3 and 5-10 illustrate the mechanism at other stages of operation'during the vend cycle.

An article support in the form of a pair of shiftable, elongated elements or rods 42 is disposed at the base of each compartment. Elements 42 normally support the lowermost article of the associated stack as is clearly illustrated in FIG. 6 where the various articles are shown in broken lines and each designated A. Since the operating mechanism for each compartment is identical, like reference characters are utilized to denote the identical components of each operating mechanism.

An article-release member 44 in the form of an elongated arm is mounted below each of the pairs of support elements 42. Member 44 is provided with a deflector 46 comprising an elongated plate normally disposed in a transversely upright disposition. A stop member or rod is disposed approximately intermediate each pair of elements 42 and an associated member 44 and spans the distance between front wall 20 and rear wall 22. Each rod is aligned with and downwardly spaced from a corresponding partition 28 as may be seen most clearly in FIG. 10. Front wall 20 and rear wall 22 have opposed, aligned openings 47 therein normally receiving opposite extremities of respective rods 45.

The ends of the various elements 42 and members 44- adjacent rear wall 22 are swingably carried by pivot pins 48 and 50 respectively. The opposite ends of elements 42 extend through arcuate slots 52 in front wall 20, each of such ends being rigid with a corresponding bell crank 54. Each slot 52 is common to a pairof adjacent compartments and receives the corresponding ends of two elements 42, as may clearly be seen in FIG. 6. The forward end of each of the release members 44, however, extends through a separate arcuate slot 56 in front wall20 and is rigidly attached to a corresponding bell crank 58. Bell cranks 58 are clearly illustrated in FIGS.

5, 7 and 9.

A common operating plate 60 extends across the front of the apparatus and is utilized in the vending of articles from any of the compartments. The vertical edges of plate 60 are received by guides 62 which are mounted on Wall 20 by horizontal posts 64. Guides 62 have annular recesses therein which receive the edges of plate 60 thus forming a track to guide the plate along its path of travel during operation of the vending apparatus. In the stand-by position, plate 60 rests on ledge 31.

A plurality of elongated, rectangular, upright locking plates or elements 66 is disposed adjacent common plate 60 and between the latter and wall 20. These plates 66 are each received by adjacent pairs of guides 62', except for the extreme left-hand and right-hand plates 66 (as viewed in FIG. 1) which are carried by a corresponding guide 62 and the adjacent guide 62. Guides 62 are similar to guides 62 except that they are provided with only two arcuate recesses, while guides 62 have three case of the end plates) in similar manner as for plates 66. Thus, the two annular guide slots or recesses provided in guides 62' are employed to receive the edges of plates 66 and 68, while the triple slot arrangement provided in guides 62 is utilized to receive the vertical edges of common plate 60 and the edges of the end plates 66 and 68.

A plurality of springs 70 in the form of elongated strips of spring steel is employed to yieldably bias the locking plates 66 against movement. Each spring 70 is received by a corresponding guide 62 or 62 and bears against the edges of the adjacent plate or plates 66. As may be seen in FIG. 2, each of the springs 70 is longitudinally bent and is received in the same guide slots as the corresponding plate or plates 66, thereby creating frictional forces between the plates 66 and corresponding guides to effectively bind the plates and prevent movement thereof except under the force of the vend motor 32, as will be explained hereinafter.

The locking elements or plates 66 are in juxtaposition with corresponding cam plates 68, each pair of plates 66 and 68 being utilized in the operation of the vending mechanism of an associated compartment. The normal relationship of the pairs of plates for the second and third compartments from side wall 24 may be seen in FIG. 1 since the common plate 60 is broken away. For the fourth compartment, plate '66 is removed in FIG. 1 to show in detail the cam plate 68. It may be seen that plate 68 is cut away to present a pair of camming surfaces 72. A rectangular portion of the central area of plate 68 is bent forwardly to present a tab 74 which engages the corresponding plate 66 during a portion of the vend cycle. A square hole 75 is thus provided in cam plate 68 above tab 74.

Locking plate 66 is provided with a pair of end-to-end, intercommunicating vertical slots 76 and 78 (FIG. 1), the latter slot being Wider than slot 76 to thereby present a pair of downwardly directed shoulders 80. A U-shaped slot 82 in plate 66 is disposed below slot 78 and imparts a function to this component of the mechanism.

The bell cranks 54 which are attached to the ends of respective elements 42 rotate about posts 64 and 64' which mount the guides 62 and 62. The remaining apex of each bell crank 54 is provided with a cam follower 84 which is positioned to engage a corresponding camming surface 72 of plate 68. The pair of cam followers 84 of the bell cranks 54 which operate a pair of elements 42 of a given compartment, also extend into the U-shaped slot 82 in a corresponding locking plate 66.

Each cam plate 68 is provided with a rearwa-rdly extending, tuansversely T-sh-aped projection 86 thereon presenting an upright mounting plate 88. An upright, generally rectangular, adjustable cam 89 is shiftably mounted on a plate 88 for vertical movement to a selected height relative to plate 88. Each of the cams 89 is attached to its respective plate 88 by a pair of fasteners 91 which extend through a corresponding pair of vertical slots 93 in mounting plate 88 to permit adjustment of the height of the cam upon release of fasteners 91 and movement thereof to a selected position in slots 93. This adjusting means is clearly illustrated in FIG. 7, the fasteners 91 and associated slots 93 being omitted from the other frontal views of the apparatus so that the other components will be more clearly shown. The cams 89 are shown in their lowermost operative positions with their upper surfaces flush with the upper margin of corresponding plates 88.

Each bell crank 58 is provided with a roller over- 'fragmentarily in broken lines.

lying the cam 89 carried by a corresponding plate 68 and is disposed for engagement by the shoulder presented by cam 89 upon upward movement thereof with plate 68. Roller 90 and the end of member 44 are attached to different apexes of the bell crank, the remaining apex of each crank being pivotally attached to a respective stud 92.

Latches 94 shown in FIGS. 1-4, are pivotally mounted on the front of common plate 60 for movement be tween a stand-by position, as shown in FIG. 2, and an operated position as illustrated in FIG. 3. Latches 94 are in horizontal alignment; therefore, only one of the latches is visible in FIGS. 2 and 3. Each latch 94 is provided with a protuberance 96 which is received by a corresponding L-shaped slot 98 in front panel 30 when the latch is in its stand-by position. A slot 100 in common plate 60 is aligned with each latch 94 and a respective slot 98 to permit each latch to move to the position shown in FIG. 3 upon actuation of the vending apparatus. A latch spring 102 is employed to normally maintain each latch in the stand-by position. Another extension 97 on each latch 94 is positioned to engage the inner face of panel 30 and limit outward movement of respective latches 94 under the influence of corresponding springs 102.

An operating mechanism is associated with each latch 94 to enable a customer to select any one of the compartments from which it is desired that an article he vended. Each of these operating devices comprises a gate 104 pivotal about a hinge pin 106 and an actuating rod 108 attached to the center portion of gate 104 and extending downwardly into disposition between latch 94 and panel 30. The opposed ends 110 and 112 of rod 108 are bent at right angles to the major, central part of the rod as shown in FIG. 4. This permits a loose union of end 110 with gate 104, the main portion of the rod being rotatably carried by the crosspiece 115 and the respective tabs 114 so that end 112 will swing through an arcuate path and force an aligned latch 94 inwardly to the FIG. 3 position thereof upon inward swinging movement of gate 104. A spring 116 normally biases each gate 104 into the stand-by position thereof ,shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, an outer housing 118 is shown a conventional captive lock or electrical interlock mechanism 120 provided with a plurality of push buttons 122. It is understood that identification of the various articles within the machine to be vended, together with operating instructions for the customer, is displayed on housing 118 'in a location to be readily viewed by the customer. Only one push button 122 is shown in FIG. 2 since these buttons are horizontally aligned and extend across the front of the vending machine.

Each push button 122, by way of the internal structure of mechanism 120, is operably coupled with a reciprocable plunger 124 which actuates gate 104 upon manual depression of the push button. In this manner, depending on the particular push button 122 selected by the customer, one of the gates 104 is swung inwardly to the disposition shown in FIG. 3 to effect movement of the corresponding latch 94 into its operative position.- The plunger 124 is extended and maintains gate 104 in the FIG. 3 position until vending is substantially completed. It should be understood that the mechanism 120 is conventional and well known structure which is operable not only to initiate vending of a customer selection after proper deposit for the same, but also to prevent customer-actuation of more than one push button 122 during each selection.

A plurality of Sold Out switches 126 are mounted on the front side of front wall 20 in a horizontal row so that each switch is adjacent a corresponding compartment. Brackets 128 on wall 20 support switches 126 in alignment with corresponding gates 104. Each switch Housing 118 supports v tively blocks inward movement of the gate.

. 6 126is provided with an actuator arm 130 which is disposed for engagement by an elongated, L-shaped strip 132. Each strip 132 is pivotally mounted on a hinge pin 134 which extends across an opening 136 in wall 20 which leads to the associated compartment. The legs of strips 132 withinthe compartments extend downwardly and are normally engaged by articles therein to maintain strip 132 in the disposition shown in FIG. 3. When a compartment is empty or sold out, strip 132 rocks about hinge pin 134 under the influence of a spring (not shown) bringing the leg of the strip extending between wall 20 and panel 30 into pressure engagement with actuator arm 130 of the associated switch 126 to depress the actuator arm 130 and thereby operate the switch.

Additionally, it may be appreciated in FIG. 2 that strip 132 now rests on a lip 138 rigid with gate 104 and posithe customer may no longer select an article contained in that compartment since depression of selector 122 cannot force gate 104 inwardly. Sold-Out switch 126 is coupled with suitable electrical indicia (not shown) on the exteriorof housing 118 which is illuminated by the operation of the switch to inform the customer that a particular compartment is sold out. In FIG. 1 the second compartment from wall 24 is illustrated as being loaded, while the third compartment is shown sold out with the corresponding strip 132 depressing the actuator arm .of the Sold Out switch. The first compartment is illustrated with strip 132 removed. The fourth compartment is shown with the Sold Out switch removed to reveal the bracket 128.

Vend motor 32 is coupled with the operating mechanism of the instant invention by a gear box 140 and shiftable structure generally designated 142. Structure 142 includes the output shaft 144 of gear box 140, a crank arm 146 rigid with shaft 144, a generally L-shaped crank device 148, a link 150 interconnecting arm 146 and device 148, and a drive rod 152 interconnecting device 148 and common plate 60. To properly distribute the driving force from vend motor 32, a rotatable shaft 154 extends across the front of the apparatus beneatth ledge 31 and is journaled at its ends in flanges 156 and 158 extending from side walls 24 and 26 respectively. An additional crank device 148' and drive rod 152' are operably associated with the end of shaft 154 remote from shiftable structure 142 to complete the drive assembly.

The upper ends of drive rods 152 and 152' are journaled on plate while the lower ends thereof are journaled in the forwardly extending extremities of corresponding crank devices 148 and 148'. The other ends of the L-shaped crank devices'148 and 148 are rigid with the rotatable shaft 154. Thus, it may be appreciated that rotation of the output shaft 144 in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 2 will cause upward movement of drive rods 152 and 152' to a peak position, whereupon further rotation of shaft 144 will then return the rods to the stand-by dispositions illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. This complete cycle of motion corresponds to one vending operation of the mechanism. The control structure intercoupling a selected push button 122 with the energizing circuitry of vend motor 32 is not shown. Such control arrangements, as well as the coin receiver and control circuitry for operating vend motor 32 only for a period of time suflicient to effect one revolution of output shaft 44 during each vending operation, are conventional and well known in the art and, therefore, will not be dealt with in this specification.

Operation In the operation of the apparatus, a selected push button 122 is depressed by the customer which, in turn, causes inward, longitudinal shifting of plunger 124 to swing a corresponding gate 104 to the position shown in FIG. 3. This effects rotation of rod 108 to thereby swing latch 94 to the position shown in FIG. 3 which engages the latch with the associated cam plate 68. .It

Therefore,

should be noted that the rectangular hole 75 in plate 68 receives latch 94 so that the latch, and hence the common plate 60, are intercoupled with plate 68.

Substantially, simultaneously, with the operation of latch 94 as aforesaid, vend motor 32 is energized to effect the vend cycle. Since plate 60 and the selected plate 68 are now intercoupled, both will rise under the driving force of vend motor 32 and no longer rest on ledge 31. During the complete vending cycle, plates 60 and 68 are caused to reciprocate along vertical paths of travel defined by the various guides 62 and 62.

Attention is now directed to FIGS. and 6 where the various positions of the plates are shown during a vend cycle. It should be understood that FIGS. 5-10 illustrate two compartments, the operating mechanism of the left-hand compartment being shown in stand-by, while the mechanism of the right-hand compartment is depicted in the various operational stages thereof. FIGS. 5 and 6 show plate 60 and. the right-hand plates 66 and 68 elevated above ledge 31 a sufficient distance to cause shifting of the associated release member 44 to the peak of its upward travel.

The action illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 is caused by the upward movement of plate 68 and the cam 89 secured thereto which operates to shift roller 90 upwardly under the driving power of the vend motor. The lifting of roller 90 causes bell crank 58 to rotate about stud 92 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6 to swing release member 44 through an upward, arcuate path of travel defined by slot 56. This moves release member 44 from its normal, lowermost position to an operated, uppermost position directly beneatth the lowermost article A. Thus far, no movement of support elements 42 has been effected.

Upon initial movement of plate 68, plate 66 remains stationary to cause the followers 84 to be retained within the vertical portions of U-shaped slot 82 where they are thereby prevented from being manipulated, either inadvertently or maliciously to jackpot the stack of articles before the release member 44 has been moved upwardly to an extent to receive the article thereon. This is particularly important in'regard to articles having a relatively small diameter. If the elements 42 were not maintained in the closed position thereof until after release member 44 reached substantially the uppermost end of its path of travel, it might be possible for one or more small diameter articles to slip between the elements 42 and permit surreptitious removal of articles from the machine.

During the interval in which release member 44 moves to the operated position, latch 94 and tab 74 traverse slot 78 in locking plate 66 and, therefore, plate 66 remains stationary. However, at the time member 44 reaches the position shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, tab 74 has already engaged shoulder 80 and the three plates 60, 66 and 68 are thus moving upwardly together.

Because roller 90 follows an arcuate path of travel, its uppermost position is disposed laterally of cam- 89 and its mounting plate 88 as shown in FIG. 5. Thus, continued upward movement of the plates is allowed since roller 90 now rides on the vertical side surface of cam 89. Release member 44 is thus locked against downward movement to release an article so long as roller 98 is in engagement with the vertical surface of cam 89. The continued upward movement of plates 66 and 68 is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 where it may be seen that cam followers 84 are now engaged by the lowermost stretches of oamming surfaces 72 to thereby rotate bell cranks 54 about posts 64 in opposite directions. This, in turn, causes support elements 42 to move away from one another to dispositions centered in corresponding arcuate slots 52 and aligned with partitions 28. Elements 42 now clear the lowermost article A and permit the same to come to rest upon release member 44.

During the action just described, the cam plate 68 first moved relative to the cam followers 84 until the latter became engaged with the lowermost stretches of the camming surfaces 72. Just prior to engagement of the cam followers with such lowermost stretches, tab 74 engaged shoulder 80 and moved locking plate 66 upwardly a sufficient distance so that followers 84 were no longer disposed in the vertical legs of the U-shaped slot 82. The cumulative effect is to register the horizontal bight of slot 82 with the lowermost stretches of oamming surfaces 72 so that the cam followers 84 will be permitted to move freely along an arcuate path of travel under the action of the rising cam plate 68'.

Further motion of the drive rods 152 and 152' effects return of the plate 60 and the selected plates 66 and 68. This is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. During initial doWn ward movement of plate 68, the locking plate 66 remains stationary while tab 74 traverses slot 78. Thus, elements 42 are held in the positions shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 because the cam followers 84 are disposed in the horizontal bight of slot 82. In this manner, the cam followers 84 are efiectively held against movement by plate 66, which otherwise might permit the elements 42 to interfere with release of the lowermost article during initial movement of the latter. Springs hold the plates 66 in this position until the driving force of motor 32 is applied thereto.

Continued downward movement of cam plate 68 ultimately brings arcuate stretches 168 of camming surface '72 (as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10) to bear against cam followers 84 forcing the same downwardly and returning elements 42 to their initial positions, but now in supporting relationship to the next to the lowermost article A. However, first cam 89 has moved downwardly beloW roller 98, permitting the latter to move downwardly under the Weight of release member 44 and the lowermost article A. The positions of the various components shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate that the lowermost article A is about to be released and allowed to gravitate through the delivery passage 36 and thence into chute 38. It should be noted, however, that the lowermost article A rests against release member 44 and stop mem ber 45, and the article will not be released until support elements 42 are locked in supporting relationship to the balance of the stack thereabove because of engagement of followers 84 in the upper slots of the surfaces 72. This not only precludes the vending of more than one article, but also positively eliminates j-ackpotting of the mechanism by unscrupulous customers.

It is instructive to note that the vertical disposition of cam plate 89 determines the time at which release member 44 will be sufficiently spaced from stop member 45 to release the lowermost article for gravitation into the delivery passage. Thus, cam 89 would be set to extend above mounting plate 88 to a greater degree if the articles in the column are of relatively small diameter, and to a lesser degree for articles of greater diameter. In the drawings, the various cams 89 are shown in their lowermost positions corresponding to vending of articles of the largest diameter contemplated. Manifestly, the raising of cams 89 to accommodate articles of smaller diameter delays release of the lowermost article until the support elements 42 have moved a sufficient distance toward one another to support the remaining stack of articles.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a vending machine:

a compartment for receiving an upright single column of articles to be vended and terminating in a delivery passage;

an article support in said compartment movable between a normal position retaining the lowermost article of said column against gravitation to the delivery passage and an operated position clearing said lowermost article;

an article-release member below said article support and first movable along a path of travel in a direction to receive the lowermost article from the article 9 support and thereafter movable in a direction to lower the lowermost article to a position where it is released for gravitation of the same to the delivery passage; shift able operating means including individually movable first and second cam structures associated respectively with said support and said member for sequentially moving the same to release the lowermost article from the column; drive means provided with shiftable structure movable through a predetermined displacement and return during a cycle of operation of the drive means; and

linkage means for intercoupling said shiftable structure and said operating means to effect movement of the latter in response to movement of said shiftable structure to said predetermined displacement and return, whereby to vend said lowermost article and retain the next to the lowermost article within the compartment.

2. The invention of claim 1, wherein said member is movable from a normal position permitting article gravitation to an operated position receiving said lowermost article and supporting the same, said operating means being operable to shift said member from said normal position thereof to the operated position of the same and then return the member to its normal position during said cycle of operation.

3. The invention of Claim 2, wherein said operating means is operable to shift said member from its normal position to its operated position prior to initiating movement of said support. 7 i 4. The invention of claim 3, wherein said member is operable to lower said lowermost article after said support is in said operated position thereof and to release said article for'gravitation into said delivery passage only after saidsupport has returned to its normal position for supporting the next to lowermost article.

. 5. The inventionof claim 4, wherein said support comprises a pair of mutually cooperable, shiftable elements disposed for movement toward and away from one another,

6. The invention of claim 1, wherein is provided first follower means operably associated with said first cam structure -responsive to movement of the latter, and

coupled with said support, and wherein is provided means for releasably locking said support in said operated position thereof upon movement thereto by said first cam structure and first follower means.

7.. The invention of claim -6,- wherein said locking means comprises an element shifta-ble toward and away from a dis-position in locking engagement with said first follower means, and yieldable means for releasably maintaining the element in said disposition, said first cam structure being provided with extension means thereon disposed to couple said element to the first cam structure during movement of the latter to effect shifting of the element to said disposition in conjunction with shifting of said first cam structure.

8. The invention of claim 7, wherein said element is shiftable away from said disposition against the action of said yieldable means to release said first follower means in response to return movement of said first cam structure.

9. The invention of claim 1, wherein is provided second follower means operably associated with said second cam structure, coupled to said member and cooperable with said second cam structure during movement of the latter for successively raising said member to receive the lowermost article, holding said member while said lowermost article is transferred thereto from said article support, and lowering said member to release the lowermost article to said delivery passage.

10. The invention of claim 9, wherein is provided first follower means. operably associated with said first cam structure, coupled with' said support, and cooperable with said first cam structure during movement of the latter for successively shift-ing said support from said normal position to said operated position and back to said normal position, said second cam structure including pre-adjustable means cooperable with said second follower means for preventing release of the lowermost article by said member until said support has been returned toward said normal position thereof a sufficient distance to support the remaining articles irrespective of the diameters of said articles.

11. The invention of claim 10, wherein said operating means includes means intercoupling said cam structures for' reciprocal movement in unison along a common, upright path of travel during operation thereof, said preadjustable means comprising a cam engageable with said second follower means and rneans releasably mounting said cam in any one of a number of fixed, vertical positions in said path of travel, said mounting means being preadjustable to vary the effective height of said cam in inverse proportion to the diameters of the articles.

12. In a vending machine:

a plurality of compartments for each receiving an up- .right single column of articles to be vended, each of said compartments terminating in a common delivery passage;

an article support in each of said compartments, respectively, movable between a normal position retaining the lowermost article of a corresponding column against gravitation to the delivery passage and an operated position clearing said lowermost article for gravitational movement;

an individual article release member below each of said article supports, respectively, and first movable along a path of travel in a direction to receive a corresponding lowermost article from the article support therefor and thereafter movable in a direction to lower the lowermost article to a position where it is released for gravitation of the same to the delivery passage;

shiftable' operating means including individually movable first and second cam structures operably associated with each of said supports and a corresponding member, respectively, for sequentially moving the same to release the lowermost article from the associated column;

means mounting the cam structures of each of said operating means for movement through a cyclic sequence to shift the corresponding support from its normal position to the operated position thereof, then move only the associated member along said path of travel, and finally return the support to its normal position before the lowermost article is released by the release member;

drive means provided with shift-able structure movable through a predetermined displacement during operation of the drive means; and

selectively operable linkage means for intercou-pling said shiftable structure and a selected operating means to effect movement of the latter in response to movement of said shiftable structure through said predetermined displacement and return, whereby to vend the lowermost article of a selected stack and retain the next to the lowermost article thereof within the compartment.

13. In a vending machine: 5

a plurality of compartments for each receiving an upright single column of articles to be vended, each of said compartments terminating in a common dearticle supports respectively and first movable along a path of travel in a direction to receive a corresponding lowermost article from the article support therefor and thereafter movable in a direction to lower the lowermost article to a position where it is released for gravitation of the same to the delivery passage;

shiftable operating means including individually movable first and second cam structures operably associated with each of the supports and a corresponding member respectively, for sequentially moving the same to release the lowermost article from an associated column;

cyclically operable drive means for shifting the cam structures of said operating means to release the lowermost article from a selectedvcompartment;

shiftable linkage means for intercoupling said drive means and a selected operating means to effect movement of the latter through a cycle of operation to release the lowermost article of a selected stack and retain the next to lowermost article thereof within a respective compartment;

a customer actuatable assembly for each of the compartments for shifting respective linkage means into disposition coupling corresponding operating means to the drive means in response to customer actuation of a selected assembly; and

retainer means engagea-ble with said linkage means after shifting of the same into said disposition thereof and upon initiation of operation of said drive means for maintaining the actuated linkage means in coupling relationship to a respective operating means until after return of the latter to substantially the initial position thereof.

14. The invention of claim 12, wherein each of said linkage means includes a latch mounted on said shiftable structure for movement therewith, means normally biasing each of the latches out of the disposition thereof coupling the structure to a respective operating means, said retainer means comprising a panel located in proximal relationship to the latches and provided with a series of slots therein for normally clearing respective latches during shifting of the latter with said shiftable structure, each of said latches being provided with a protuberance thereon positioned to engage the proximal surface of the panel when a corresponding latch hasvbeen moved to said coupling disposition thereof to thereby retain the, shifted latch in coupling relationship between the shiftable structure and respective operating means until completion of operation of said drive means.

15. In a vending machine:

a plurality of compartments for receiving upright stacks of articles to be vended, each of said compartments terminating in a common delivery passage;

an article support in each of said compartments respectively, movable between a normal position retaining the lowermost article of a corresponding stack against gravitation to the delivery passage and an operated position clearing said lowermost article for gravitational movement; v

an article release member below each of said article supports respectively and movable along a path of from the article support therefor and lower the lowermost article to a position permitting gravitation of the same to the delivery passage;

shiftable operating means operably associated with each of the supports and a corresponding member respectively, for sequentially moving the same to'release an article from an associated stack;

cyclically operable drive means for shifting the operating means to release an article from a selected compartment;

shiftable linkage means for intercou-pling said drive means and a selected operating means to effect movement of the latter through a cycle of operation to release the lowermost article of a selected stack and retain the next to lowermost article thereof within a respective compartment;

a customer actuatable assembly for each of the cornpartments for shifting respective linkage means into disposition coupling corresponding operating means to the drive means in response to customer actuation of a selected assembly; and

sold-out means operably associated with each of the compartments for sensing the level of articles therein and including blocking means movable into disposition physically blocking customer actuation of each assembly corresponding to each compartment in which the articles therein fall below a predetermined level.

16. The invention of claim 15, wherein said linkage means comprises a series oflatches mounted for pivoting movement through respective arcs from normal stand-by positions to location coupling the drive means to a corresponding operating means, and said assemblies each include push button mechanism having an operating plunger, a swingable gate operably associated with each of the plungers for operation by the latter, and rod means operably associated with the gates and respective latches for swinging of the latter to said locations thereof in response to swinging of a corresponding gate by customer actuation of an associated plunger, said blocking means being moveable into direct blocking relationship to a corresponding gate whenever the articles in a respective compartment fall below said predetermined level therein.

17. The invention as set forth in claim 16, wherein said gates and the latches are swingable about spaced, gen erally parallel axes and each of the rod means is of generally U-shaped configuration presenting a first leg positioned in the path of travel of a corresponding gate and a second leg located to engage and swing a respective latch into said location thereof as the first leg is swung by a correspondinggate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,107,030 10/1963 Taylor 221-116 3,118,567 1/1964 Newberry 22l6 3,151,770 10/1964 Payne 221-298 LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

WALTER SOBIN, Examiner. 

1. IN A VENDING MACHINE: A COMPARTMENT FOR RECEIVING AN UPRIGHT SINGLE COLUMN OF ARTICLES TO BE VENDED AND TERMINATING IN A DELIVERY PASSAGE; AN ARTICLE SUPPORT IN SAID COMPARTMENT MOVABLE BETWEEN A NORMAL POSITION RETAINING THE LOWERMOST ARTICLE OF SAID COLUMN AGAINST GRAVITATION TO THE DELIVERY PASSAGE AND AN OPERATED POSITION CLEARING SAID LOWERMOST ARTICLE; AN ARTICLE-RELEASE MEMBER BELOW SAID ARTICLE SUPPORT AND FIRST MOVABLE ALONG A PATH OF TRAVEL IN A DIRECTION TO RECEIVE THE LOWERMOST ARTICLE FROM THE ARTICLE SUPPORT AND THEREAFTER MOVABLE IN A DIRECTION TO LOWER THE LOWERMOST ARTICLE TO A POSITION WHERE IT IS RELEASED FOR GRAVITATION OF THE SAME TO THE DELIVERY PASSAGE; SHIFTABLE OPERATING MEANS INCLUDING INDIVIDUALLY MOVABLE FIRST AND SECOND CAM STRUCTURES ASSOCIATED RESPECTIVELY WITH SAID SUPPORT AND SAID MEMBER FOR SEQUENTIALLY MOVING THE SAME TO RELEASE THE LOWERMOST ARTICLE FROM THE COLUMN; DRIVE MEANS PROVIDED WITH SHIFTABLE STRUCTURE MOVABLE THROUGH A PREDETERMINED DISPLACEMENT AND RETURN DURING A CYCLE OF OPERATION OF THE DRIVE MEANS; AND LINKAGE MEANS FOR INTERCOUPLING SAID SHIFTABLE STRUCTURE AND SAID OPERATING MEANS TO EFFECT MOVEMENT OF THE LATTER IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT OF SAID SHIFTABLE STRUCTURE TO SAID PREDETERMINED DISPLACEMENT AND RETURN, WHEREBY TO VEND SAID LOWERMOST ARTICLE AND RETAIN THE NEXT TO THE LOWERMOST ARTICLE WITHIN THE COMPARTMENT. 